CONSULTATION on the draft legislation designed to ease the title deeds problem and ultimately create healthier conditions in the property market has now been completed “within an open, democratic and transparent process” aimed at creating the “broadest possible political and social consensus”, Interior Minister Neoclis Sylikiotis said yesterday.
“For the first time and in a holistic manner faces up to a lingering problem, a Gordian Knot which has prevented thousands of Cypriot and foreign property-buyers from obtaining title deeds,” Sylikiotis said.
The Minister spoke to the press after meeting with representatives of the main political parties yesterday to discuss the draft legislation package. He said the aim was to facilitate the bills’ speedy passage through the House in early 2010 following their approval by the Council of Ministers before the end of the year.
An estimated 130,000 units (houses, flats, hotels) are currently without title deeds, while only 22,000 applications for title deeds have reached the Land Registry, with a further 4,000-5,000 being processed in recent months. The proposed legislation has been designed to ease this bottle-neck by providing an “amnesty” for minor infractions of town-planning regulations and strengthening the position of property-buyers when applying for title deeds.
The consultation process began with the publication of the five bills in July. A first round of meetings was held with various interest groups such as the Technical Chamber (ETEK), the Cyprus Chambers of Commerce and Industry (KEVE), the Employers and Industrialists Federation (OEV), the Cyprus Land & Building Developers Association (CLBDA), and official representatives of surveyors, civil engineers and other property sector professionals.
This first round of consultation meetings produced written proposals for improving the bills. The second round took place over the last two days, when Sylikiotis briefed all interested parties – this time including the Cyprus Land and Property Owners’ Association (KSIA) and the Cyprus Property Action Group (CPAG) – on what will most likely form the final version of the draft legislation.
The Minister emphasised once again yesterday that “strengthening the buyer’s rights lies at the centre of the amendments”. One set of new provisions will make it compulsory for the sale & purchase contract to be registered with the Land Registry, and for the Completion Certificate to be applied for and obtained by the developer. In practice, the lack of compulsion on such matters has acted against property-buyers’ interests.
Sylikiotis said that this new process will bring the problems to the surface, and forcing them through the system will facilitate the issuing of title deeds.
SIDEBAR
THE FIRST of a planned series of demonstrations against the banks’ lack of transparency over property developers’ mortgages took place yesterday morning outside the main branch of Bank of Cyprus (BoC) in Paphos.
CPAG President Denis O’Hare said: “The issue is a lack of transparency. People who have bought properties from developers now know that there are mortgages attached to them, but have no way of knowing what the balance is. The sooner they know this, the sooner they would have the option of paying off the mortgage in order to get their title deeds. Besides, if you find out that you are the ultimate guarantor of a loan, you need to know what your liability might be.”
The demonstration, which was organised by the Cyprus Property Action Group (CPAG), involved over 100 property-buyers who are still without title deeds. At least some of them have discovered that despite paying in full the amounts stipulated in their purchase agreement, they now risk losing their homes due to outstanding mortgages taken out by the builders of their properties.
The demonstrators were mainly British, but also included Russians and Greek Cypriots. The good-humoured event started around 9.45am and ended some 45 minutes later. There were 10 police officers present, and private security staff were stationed in the bank’s entrance, but CPAG stewards ensured that the demonstration passed off without incident.
O’Hare said: “BoC was only the first bank. We’ll demonstrate against other banks in other areas in the coming months. We won’t stop until we get transparency from the banks over the loans they have given to developers.”
